Just got this is my Inbox. Enjoying the veiled character assassination.

"We are now concerned about the security of your personal information." - now someone else can fleece you like we allegedly are?

"We also understand that the member is distributing information through a website established through an anonymous registrant in the Bahamas and hosted by a company based in Iceland. " - well, at least the site is famous. Are FFS everyone talks about the cloud so you don't need a server in your building, do people realise it just means you're using a server somewhere else? I'm not surprised it's hosted in Iceland, it's bloody cold there - hence the Ice - and it keeps running costs down!

Shaking my head at this email. I suspect some of the board et al are starting to sweat.

************************************************

We write to advise that you may soon receive unsolicited correspondence from a member, who has requested access to CPA Australia's full register of members.

It is with regret that we have released this information to the member, however we were legally obligated to do so under the Australian Corporations Act 2001. We are now concerned about the security of your personal information.

The member has advised that having access to the full register "will enable communication with the whole membership."

The member has to date distributed a series of negative emails containing numerous inaccurate claims about CPA Australia's performance, remuneration, governance, office bearers, members, CEO, management and staff.

There have been over 20 emails since 21 February, many with large file attachments and documents running to hundreds of pages. We are aware of instances where the same email has been sent five times over a five-hour period.

We have received multiple complaints about these emails from members, as well as external organisations centrally relevant to CPA Australia's operations that have also been recipients.

We also understand that the member is distributing information through a website established through an anonymous registrant in the Bahamas and hosted by a company based in Iceland.

We have repeatedly attempted to engage with the member on matters of concern since they were first raised prior to the 2016 AGM. This has included multiple phone conversations, correspondence comprehensively addressing specific issues and correcting false claims and assumptions, and an open invitation to further discuss any matters at any time.

Please be assured that we have made every effort to protect your personal information. For completeness, we have written to the Australian Privacy Commissioner and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to inform them about these circumstances.

1. "We also understand that the member is distributing information..."
What does where site is hosting have to do with anything? Is this a thinly veiled attempt to associate the website as operating in a tax haven?

2. "Please be assured that we have made every effort to protect your personal information..."
How on earth this the member register private information? Until they took down the "Find a CPA" tool, this information was already in the public domain.

3. "There have been over 20 emails since 21 February, many with large file attachments and documents running to hundreds of pages. We are aware of instances where the same email has been sent five times over a five-hour period..."
Well the register doesn't have email addresses, so its a wonder that these so call emails were sent. Really interested in the exact number members who are allegedly complaining. So how could these 20 emails have been sent in the first place? I know I've never received any of the 20.

4. And the dozy "The member has to date distributed a series of negative emails containing numerous inaccurate claims about CPA Australia's performance, remuneration, governance, office bearers, members, CEO, management and staff."
The basic facts regarding expenditure speak for themselves. The continually minimal disclosure makes its clear that many actions don't pass the basic pub or front page test. The more you doth protest innocence (or disparage others as "inaccurate" claims) the more it is apparent that you have something to hide.

Firstly, well done on setting up this site. I had no idea it existed until I got yesterday's email, and then a quick 'whois' confirmed that I had found the correct site. I'll be spreading the word every way I can. Many of my friends and colleagues are also angry.

Over the past few months, I've seen the articles published in the AFR, but yesterday's email really brought it home.

"This is a professional standards body expressing its regret at having to comply with the law!"

Well they had to give the address as it's a legal requirement. However, the email they sent did nothing to protect anyone's privacy. How could it the members register was already provided. It was just about attacking our credibility, perhaps defaming by suggesting Brett is a spammer or that he would not take proper care of the list or use it properly. The object was to reduce the impact that our communications will have. Why is an organisation with 155,000 members so worried if a member wants to communicate with other members. Seems like there is something to hide.

I think any organisation would be concerned if anyone one, including a member, wanted to communicate with their entire membership base. They had a duty to inform members that they released their information and may be contacted from an unexpected source. But what they said was a massive error of judgement.

I have been frustrated with CPA and what we get for our membership for years but thought it just a necessary evil that we all could do nothing about. That email just alerted us that somebody is doing something.

I spoke with about 15 CPA's across several companies today, only 3 had read the email from CPA but every one of them expressed their frustration with CPA and support of a movement to improve accountability.

The concern with contacting other members also relates to CPA Australia taking down the Find A CPA function. It's how Brett got the first 100 and the took it down in response. This is confirmed in the 16 page CPAA memo.

In relation to communicate to the entire membership yes and no. It's a provision of the corporations law. If you're running a public company it can happen. I would expect the concern is that the member is just trying to sell something, but if you're concerned that the member will mention something about the organisations governance well that's a bit wrong.

When I received the Board’s email on Monday, I was very angry with their arrogant attitude. They expressed “regret” in following their legal obligation under the Corporations Act to release the members register. Are they kidding? We are all accountants who understand the obligations of being a member of a corporate body. I’m more worried about who CPA Australia sells their emailing list to as the number of unsolicited emails I receive from their commercial partners continues to increase and clog my inbox! And when I read the AFR article the next day, I realised I wasn’t alone in my feelings about the Board’s “regret”.

What this email exposes about the Board is their infantile desire not to be accountable to its members. Further in their email they state they’ve responded to specific issues and “correcting false claims and assumptions”. OK then. So where are the attachments and/or links in that email so that the members can come to their own conclusions about the Board’s position? Where’s the open transparency? It’s obviously a big enough issue for the Board to send us the email in the first place. Is the Board acting for its members or for itself?

The members need full disclosure and not an email full of innuendo and attempted character assassination. I’m aware of 3 unrelated public practitioners who support Brett’s concerns and are known to CPA Australia. And guess what happened to them? Quality Reviews in successive years! Coincidence? You be the judge in light of the Boards current attitude to its members. The Board and its administration are there to serve us, the members, and not the other way around.